"That is enough!" F'lar's expression darkened, and he irritably pushed hair back from his forehead. "Lessa!" he called, beckoning urgently to her.
When F'lar explained K'van's problem, she was equally incensed.
"You'd think he'd know better by this time not to try to bully dragonriders," she said, her voice crisp with anger. When she saw K'van's apprehensive expression, she gave him a reassuring touch. "It's scarcely your fault Toric is as greedy as a Bitran."
"Desperate, more like," K'van said with the hint of a smile. "Master Idarolan told me that Toric had offered him a small fortune in gems and a fine harbor if he'd sail a punitive force to the Island. But he wouldn't. And, furthermore, he's told all the other Shipmasters that they're not -to help Toric in this matter. They won't, either."
"Toric has ships of his own," Lessa said irritably.
K'van had relaxed enough to grin. "But none large enough to transport a sufficiently large force to be effective. His landing parties have been ambushed and either wounded severely enough to make them useless or imprisoned by the rebels." His grin grew broader. "I've got to hand it to Denol-he's clever. But I wanted to tell you what's been happening before lies or rumors got back to you-or other Lord Holders complained about our attitude."
"Quite correct, K'van," F'lar said.
"We'll have to find time to visit Lord Toric," Lessa said, a steely look in her eyes. Then she smiled, a nasty smile that made K'van relieved that it was not directed against him. "Lord Toric needs a full report on Aivas and what's happening here at Landing. I think we'll inform him ourselves, F'lar?"
"I'm not sure when," F'lar said with a sigh. "But we'll make the time somehow. K'van, just keep your Weyr out of Toric's squabble."
"I shall!" And there was no doubt in the Benden Weyrleaders' minds that he would. K'van had been a determined and responsible youngster, and now that he was grown to manhood, those traits were refined. He would stand against Toric simply because Toric didn't think he could.
Now, place this plug," Aivas told Piemur, illustrating the appropriate one on the monitor, "in this female socket!" When Piemur had complied, Aivas went on. "There should be a green light on the base of the monitor."
"There isn't," Piemur said in a voice that was almost a wail. He sighed gustily, hanging on to his patience.
"Then there is a faulty connection. Remove the cover and check the boards, mother, input-output, and memory," Aivas said. It didn't help Piemur's temper that Aivas seemed totally unruffled by yet another failure. It simply wasn't normal for an entity to be so bloody methodically insensitive. "Machines must first be properly assembled before they can function as they were designed. That is the first step. Be patient. It is only a matter of discovering which is the faulty connection."
Piemur found that he was trying to bend the screwdriver in his hand. He took a deep breath and, not daring to look to either side of him, where Benelek and Jancis were concentrating on assembling their own devices, he removed the cover of his. Once more.
They had been at this tedious and exacting task ever since Terry had arranged all the wires and connecting cords to Aivas's satisfaction. It soothed Piemur only slightly that Benelek, who had always been mechanically inclined and good with his hands, was not faring any better. Nor was Jancis, though her current ineptitude distressed him for her sake. Piemur's shoulders ached with cramp, his fingers were thick with all the finicky little movements, and he was going sour on the whole project. It had seemed such a simple affair. Find the cartons in the caves with the stored units, dust 'em off, start 'em up, and that d be that. But it wasn't. First Aivas had made them learn what each unit was-keyboard, liquid-crystal display, computer box, touch keyboard panel and the codes for the various "boards" that activated the computer terminal. Fortunately, when it came to soldering broken connections, Jancis and Benelek were adept. Piemur burned his fingers once or twice in practice, but he caught on quickly enough. Fingers made dexterous by playing instruments easily adapted to the new task. But the initial enthusiasm that had motivated Piemur since before dawn had long since drained out of him. Only the fact that neither Jancis nor Benelek faltered kept him going.
"Let us begin again," the inexorable, calm Aivas voice continued, "by checking each panel to be sure there is no damage or break in the circuits or chips."
"I've done that twice already," Piemur said, setting his jaw.
"Then it must be done again. Make use of the magnifying glass. That is why our boards were all made to be visible, serviceable. On Earth it was not possible to check them visually like this. There it was done by facilities in factory outlets. Here we must just proceed patiently."
Holding his temper firmly in check, Piemur went over the chips, circuit by circuit, scrutinizing the resistors and capacitors. The beads and silvery lines that had once fascinated him had become anathema, called by stupid terms that meant nothing to him but trouble. He devoutly wished he had never seen the bloody things. Close scrutiny did not disclose any obvious breaks. So, exercising the greatest control on his fingers, he replaced each component as carefully as he could. They all slotted firmly into place.
"Be sure that each card is seated securely in the grooves," said the ever-calm Aivas.
"I just did, Aivas!" Piemur knew he sounded petulant, but in the face of Aivas's imperturbability, he found it even harder to be objective. Then his good humor reasserted itself. Machines, he reminded himself facetiously, did only what they were programmed to do. They did not have emotions to interfere with the smooth performance of their duties-once a smooth performance had been attained.
"Before you replace the cover, Piemur, blow gently across the unit to be sure there are no motes of dust clogging the connections."
Master Esselin had the reconstruction of the Aivas facility in hand, but the work roused clouds of dust, some of which sifted into the chamber despite all precautions.
Piemur blew carefully, Replaced the cover. Picked up the plug and inserted it. It took him a full moment to realize that a green light indeed shone on the panel just where it was supposed to, and that a letter had appeared on the liquid-crystal display. He let out a whoop, startling Jancis and Benelek.
"Don't do that, Piemur," the young journeyman exclaimed, scowling up at him. "I nearly soldered the wrong connection."
"It's really working, Piemur?" Jancis looked up hopefully.
"Green and go!" Piemur chortled, rubbing his hands together, ignoring Benelek's sour looks. "All right, Aivas, now what do I do? "
"Using the letters on the keys in front of you, tap out README."
Hunting out the various letters, Piemur tapped out the phrase. Instantly the screen in front of him blossomed with words, numbers, and letters.
"Hey, look, you two. Words! My own screen full of words!"
Benelek spared only an irritated glance, but Jancis rose to stand behind him and admire the result. She gave him an approving pat and then returned to her task.
"Read carefully and absorb the information on the screen," Aivas said, "and you will learn how to access the programs you need to reach the information you desire. First you must become familiar with the terms. Being comfortable with these terms increases your efficiency as an operator."
By the time Piemur had read through the instructions several times, he wasn't much wiser, for it appeared to him that familiar words no longer meant what they should. He sighed and started at the beginning of the page again. Words were a harper's profession, and he would learn these new interpretations if it took him a full Turn.
"I've got it, too!" Jancis cried elatedly. "I've got a green light, too!"
"That makes three of us then," Benelek said smugly. "And I tap Out README, Aivas? "